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http://www.macnn.com/articles/09/02/04/german.mac.clones/

German company joins in Mac cloning efforts

updated 04:50 pm EST, Wed February 4, 2009

German Mac clones

Another Mac clone builder has appeared in spite of questionable legality, a publication reports. Based in Germany, a company known as HyperMegaNet UG has begun selling the PearC line, on which shoppers can have Mac OS X Leopard installed, or alternately Windows Vista or XP. The line is divided into Starter, Advanced and Professional models, with base prices ranging from �499 to �1,499.

Buyers can further customize the systems with a variety of options, such as CPUs varying in speed from a 2.2GHz E2200 to a 3.2GHz Core i7 965, and graphics cards ranging from a GeForce 7200GS to a GeForce 9800GTX Plus, equipped with 2GB of video memory.

The debut comes amidst intense resistance to cloning from Apple, which notes that the end-user agreement for Mac OS X Leopard explicitly prevents the OS' installation on third-party hardware. Its chief opposition has been Psystar, which has not only been sued for building Mac clones but has filed a countersuit, accusing Apple of abusing copyright to block competition. The latter also recently chastised Wired for posting a video guide teaching viewers how to install Mac OS X on a netbook.

by MacNN Staff

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Germany, computers, Leopard, Mac OS X

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Comments

lkrupp
Junior Member

Joined: May 2001

+2

02/04, 05:16pm | report spam | close Reply |
This will be dealt with..

Moshe has been dispatched.

Guest
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Nov 1999

-2

02/04, 05:53pm | report spam | (2 replies) close Reply |
GOOD!

Serve Apple right.

By neglecting the Mini and not offering that "midtower" that everyone wants.. You know, that machine BETWEEN the iMac and the Mac Pro, people are forced to become inventive.

I, myself, will be building a Hackintosh in a home theater PC case since Apple clearly has no intention of updating the Mini.

And until Jobs himself comes to my house and tells me I need to stop using my Hackint0sh HTPC, I will bask in the glory of a machine that is cheaper and more feature-packed than the poor, old, neglected Mini.

aaalexxx
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Feb 2009

+11

02/04, 06:08pm | report spam | (1 reply) close Reply |
What you didn't write

What you didn't write is that the Apple's license agreement is not valid in Germany (and other european contries) which means that it is impossible for Apple to disallow anyone to buy an official Mac OS X, install it on a PC and sell it. That's why HyperMegaNet (what a stupid name!) only sell the PearC (stupid name again) only to Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and the UK.More Info here: https://www.pearc.de/faq.php

Geobunny
Mac Elite

Joined: Oct 2000

+4

02/04, 06:23pm | report spam | close Reply |
That name!

I knew I'd heard the name HyperMegaNet before! It was Homer Simpson's internet business - Compu Global Hyper MegaNet.

Paragraph 3 of the plot outline on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Bus

LeoNobilis
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Nov 2007

-4

02/04, 06:40pm | report spam | close Reply |
Company???

That's no "German company"! That's a team of slum-oriented opportunist idiots that incidentally live in Germany! And their "business" is as much a "business" as is selling cheese in a bazaar.

LeoNobilis
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Nov 2007

-6

02/04, 06:41pm | report spam | close Reply |
Company!? What "company"?

That's no "German company"! That's a team of slum-oriented opportunist idiots that incidentally live in Germany! And their "business" is as much a "business" as is selling cheese in a bazaar.

Guest
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Nov 1999

-3

02/04, 08:13pm | report spam | (1 reply) close Reply |
Do I understand correctly

Let me see if I understand this. Apple has no standing in the EU -- their license agreement is not valid, as someone writes -- yet the EU courts can REQUIRE Apple to comply with their whimsy? The EU oligarchy can knock Apple all over the place and Apple has no way of fighting back? What happened to copyright laws there? Come on, people. What's wrong with this picture? What kind of perverse logic is at play in Europe? If this is true, there's only one important question left: Why is Apple still even interested in Europe as a market? They should leave the EU ASAP and take not only their hardware, but also the wonderful Mac OS X that seems to be so coveted and yet not respected. This is as bad as Asia. Shame on you, EU.

Guest
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Nov 1999

0

02/04, 08:24pm | report spam | close Reply |
No, You Don't Understand.

The copy of OS X is legally purchased from Apple. The EULA (which is not even worth the paper it's printed on) is not valid in the EU. Someone picks up on this, and starts a business building PC's, installing and including that legally purchased copy of OS X.

Look at that - no copyright violation!

Update the mini, release a mid-range tower, and the argument that there's no need for this business hold a little more water -- but only barely. As long as Apple sells a full installation of OS X by way of retail (no serial number required from your Mac to prove yourself worthy to give Apple your money), limiting it's installation only to Mac hardware is, at best, a fool's errand.

Time for people to stop making excuses for a company that dictates what you can run on your PC.

Bobfozz
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Jul 2008

0

02/04, 10:19pm | report spam | close Reply |
The Mac Mini

What is your problem pal? Does not liking something Apple is doing or not doing entitle YOU to do whatever you want? Not really. Whatever is or is not going on in Europe (those commissions often are loaded with people who couldn't get a job doing anything else) has no bearing on you if you are in the USA.
And coming up with the ignorant comment that the EULA is not worth the paper it is printed on completely escapes the logic of legal agreements and contracts in this country.
Go play with your Mac mini, most of us prefer a beefier machine you unadulterated cheapskate. That's what it's really about... you are cheap and want something better (OS X) for nothing. Go get one of the 7 versions of Windows 7 and play pattycake with yourself.

testudo
Forum Regular

Joined: Aug 2001

0

02/04, 11:37pm | report spam | (1 reply) close Reply |
re: the mac mini

Go play with your Mac mini, most of us prefer a beefier machine you unadulterated cheapskate.

So what you're saying is that if you buy a mac mini, you're a cheapskate? We should be sending as much money as possible to Apple?

Oh, and if i read his comments correctly, he doesn't have a mini. He built his own hackintosh, which is the beefier machine you prefer, but at a lower price. What isn't he getting? Oh, the fancy case and support (and Apple used to be so good support wasn't even a concern - ah, the good ol' days).

That's what it's really about... you are cheap and want something better (OS X) for nothing. Go get one of the 7 versions of Windows 7 and play pattycake with yourself.

What's your problem? You're opposed to people wanting a computer system that meets their needs, rather than having to try to fit their needs into the cubbyholes that Apple believes everyone should fit into?

And no one ever claimed they want OS X for nothing. They just don't want to spend $1500 for a machine with no expansion and a built-in screen that one might not need, or $3000 for way too much power, but with the expansion they want.

And don't you find it amazing how every other computer company has figured out how to make a 17" laptop for $1000, while Apple still tries to get people to get one for $2800. Or that they can't figure out how to put an express card slot into the 13" laptop. And this doesn't even count the whole "Well, if you want a desktop, you really want a computer with a built-in monitor".

testudo
Forum Regular

Joined: Aug 2001

0

02/05, 08:05am | report spam | close Reply |
Re: You make

But Apple severely limits what you can do. I may think BMWs are overpriced cars that basically exist to make owners feel important (they are), but I have many choices of cars.

Because Apple insists that their OS can only run on their hardware, you can only get their hardware. At that point, as a consumer, it is my right to voice that Apple is cubbyholing their users, because they are. They are restricting what we can buy in order to run OS X.

Apple's most prized tenet is the marriage of hardware with software and its purpose is to make the company the most money.

This used to be the case. The tight integration was something back in the old days. It still exists with the iPhones. But on the computer front, Macs are just standard components slapped together into a fancy box. That's it. The OS doesn't work 'special' because its a Mac. People have taken a standard PC and put the OS on it and get the same experience as if they spent $3000 on a Mac.

The fact that Apple has specifically begun removing features from computers to try to 'force' users into buying higher-end models is the exact same complaint people have with 5 versions of Windows 7. But while that's a "money grab", this is a "business model". There is no difference.

All those companies that you say figure out how to make a machine for much less don't give a rat's a** (or consumer's a**) what happens to it once it's sold.

Yes they do. That's why HP, for example, has a software update system, to update drivers and deal with security issues. They don't care about Vista or virii so much, because that isn't their job, that's MS's job.

But you will find a LOT of people who'll say "This computer does everything I need and works" and they'll be talking Dell or HP or Acer or Sony or Apple.

And Apple has started to go from 'all-in-ones' to "if you need this feature, just buy our dongle". So, get a new macbook air, for example, and you're carrying around a network adaptor and a display adaptor, maybe a USB hub. Oh, right, that's OK, because at least it 'looks good'.

My co-worker has a Dell laptop, and he loves it, more so than any Apple laptop, partly because it has features no mac computer has, such as a built-in smart-card reader. No needing to carry around dongles.

Apple can't even make a consumer 15" laptop. That is just sad...

hayesk
Professional Poster

Joined: Sep 1999

-2

02/05, 10:14am | report spam | close Reply |
mid-towers and piracy.

Wow, the selfish sense of self-entitlement I see here.

Just because Apple doesn't make the configuration you want doesn't give you the right to take their OS and install it on whatever machine you want. Apple is the vendor - they decide what they want to sell. If you don't want it, too bad. Stealing from them isn't going to convince them to make your precious mid-tower.

Even paying for your copy doesn't make it ok. Everyone, including you, knows that it costs much more than $129 per copy to make MacOS X. Apple subsidized MacOS X development with hardware profits.

If this practice continues, Apple will increase the price of MacOS X and put in product activation. Is this what you want? Personally, I'd rather their developers work on features rather than product activation.

PRoth
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Aug 2008

+1

02/05, 10:24am | report spam | close Reply |
Well said, but...

while I agree with you on some points, I disagree with you on others. Apple is not and never has been a Microsoft or Linux or other OS developers. Apple's contention has been and still is that they build better machines - which I myself find arguable at times. OS X began as an extension of that company philosophy... so to say that they're "limiting" consumers choice by allowing OS X only on their machines is a moot point. And "money grab" is exactly the same as "business model", it's just point of view that changes. To pad their corporate coffers, Apple structures their product lines such that the best of all choices is at the highest of price... After that it's all just demographics. I don't condone what they do (removing firewire, introducing a new display port, matte screens not being an option, lack of quality control are all steps backwards in my opinion) but I can't condemn them either because from a business perspective of "make the most money you can", much of what they're doing is self-explanatory and easy to shout at but hard to argue against. It'll be interesting to see how they revamp the desktop lines since the sales of those were so poor last year.

Yes, you're right, a lot of people are content with their HP, Dell, Acer and Sony machines and no one has a problem with that. If they add a card reader to help sell their product, that's great. But those are the only things that these companies have with which to compete. I don't need a card reader, for example, and I find that whole segment of the industry obnoxious. Multiple formats, multiple sizes, etc - these are unnecessary dongles. What's the use of keeping track of tiny, vulnerable pieces of plastic when all I care about is the photos. Apple figured out a convenient way for me not to have to deal with what I consider obnoxious. Plug my camera in and get my pictures.

These PC companies only create machines... as you said, they don't worry about what MS is responsible for, and so, they don't charge the overhead for it. Microsoft certainly does, in what you call a "money grab"... And no one faults the Dells or Acers or HPs for that, do they? Nor should they. Instead, they clamor for a mid-sized, semi-customizable tower from Apple. Well why is that, honestly? And why should Apple do it? The market is flooded with such PCs already. The only difference would be OS X and the price point. Apple will charge the overhead on such a machine for all the (mostly) polished extras that PCs lack and everyone will be up in arms. Too expensive, should have had this, shouldn't have taken out that. That's a conflict the company's wisely not walking into. Instead, they push the envelop on the fringes. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. No one is telling you to buy and in turn, no one is obligated to act on your expectations.

Zeitkind
Fresh-Faced Recruit

Joined: Feb 2009

+1

02/07, 09:34pm | report spam | close Reply |
Let's clear some things..

.. up:
Yes, most EULA's are not valid in many European countries. The reason is quite simple: the end user never made any contract with Apple itself, all they did is a sales contract with the dealer where they bought the retail version. For a contract needs 2 partners, any restrictions Apple (or Microsoft & Co.) tries to bind to their products, are not valid for the end user - esp. if the end user can't read the EULA before purchasing the product. You can't have a contract with someone you never met or dealed with - that simple.
So Apple has two problems: the so called "Ersch�pfungsgrundsatz" (that's the German law term describing the fact that Apple gave up control of their product once they sell it to the dealer) and the problem with the EULA not known before purchase. It's gonna be interesting, how Apple will try to stop those clones in Europe.
Microsoft lost all lawsuits regarding reselling OEM-versions ("bundle only") because of the same reason, so it was always legal to resell "OEM"-versions in Germany. That's the reason why there are no longer such "OEM"-versions but only "system builder" licenses.
The situation is different if you have e.g. a business contract with Microsoft. In this case you buy the stuff from Microsoft and agree to a contract - in which Microsoft can prohibit reselling so called "corporate licenses". Oracle e.g. has no retail stuff at all, so Oracle can hinder all their users from reselling licenses.
Copyrights are a different part here. As long as the EFI-emulation doesn't infringe any code or patent, they simply can't stop it. If you alter the kernel - you might infringe Apple patents, but if your emulation enables you to install a vanilla OS X - well, Apple can't do much against it. Gonna be interesting, all is still some kind of a legal grey area.
But: there are some laws that gives vendors the rights to control the selling of their product, esp. regarding imports from non-european countries. Sony uses this often to stop "grey imports" of cheaper consoles from outside Europe. But in this special case, the retail versions are made for the european market and Apple can't use those laws to stop those clones.
Sorry for my bad English, hope this helps understanding the problem anyway.

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German company joins in Mac cloning efforts

updated 04:50 pm EST, Wed February 4, 2009

German Mac clones

This will be dealt with..

GOOD!

What you didn't write

That name!

Company???

Company!? What "company"?

Do I understand correctly

No, You Don't Understand.

The Mac Mini

re: the mac mini

Re: You make

mid-towers and piracy.

Well said, but...

Let's clear some things..

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German company joins in Mac cloning efforts

updated 04:50 pm EST, Wed February 4, 2009

German Mac clones

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This will be dealt with..

GOOD!

What you didn't write

That name!

Company???

Company!? What "company"?

Do I understand correctly

No, You Don't Understand.

The Mac Mini

re: the mac mini

Re: You make

mid-towers and piracy.

Well said, but...

Let's clear some things..

Login Here

Register for our weekly email newsletter:

Connect tools:

Subscribe

to our RSS

Follow us

on Twitter

Most Read

10 Most Discussed

MacNN Marketplace